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Linux: Cheap chic for computer fashionistas

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) — Linux was created as the people's software, free and open for everyone to use, in an attempt to thwart the commercialization of technology. But now the decade-old operating system is getting as corporate as button-down shirts and PowerPoint presentations.

One in five servers — computers that handle Internet traffic and corporate networks — ran on Linux among those sold last year, and the software is expected to gain market share.

The economic downturn has been brutal toward dot-coms, many of which have disappeared. But Linux, closely associated with Internet start-ups like Yahoo and Amazon.com, is more than just surviving. It's becoming a player, gaining favor with budget-conscious, old-line companies drawn by its performance improvements and lack of licensing costs.

Tech giants such as IBM, Oracle and Hewlett-Packard all back the system.

Linux users spent only $80 million on the software, less than 1% of the amount spent on all operating systems for all computers, even though it's widely used, researchers at International Data Corp. reported.

At a recent computer industry gathering of Linux users, pony-tailed men in T-shirts mingled with executives in short-sleeved golf shirts emblazoned with corporate logos.

It was a scene that the Linux geeks would rather have avoided a few years back.

But the growth of the software has given them a new standing. The designer-suit clad billionaire, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, was among those paying homage to Linux.

"Linux has been the province of computer hackers, computer scientists and universities. Now, I'm afraid, in a couple years you will have people here with suits on," said Ellison, one of Silicon Valley's richest and best-dressed executives.

Low cost, high growth, big business

Developers often write "free speech" software — software not controlled by a corporation — using Linux. Thus, Linux paves the way for using low- to no-cost substitutes for expensive programs such as corporate e-mail managers.

After a stagnant 2001, Linux sales are expected to grow fast as corporations accept that they can get cost savings without sacrificing reliability, at least for some tasks.

The change was clear this month in San Francisco at the twice-yearly LinuxWorld, the premier meeting place for those eager to talk software coding strategies.

An exhibit hall once dominated by big booths from obscure Linux distributors instead was filled with mainstream tech names like IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Intel and AMD. And, in a small booth in the back, one could even find Microsoft, the king of the brand-name operating systems.

"Wall Street is going for Linux in a big way," said Oracle's Ellison, who often compares technology trends to those seen in high-fashion.

Once, million-dollar server computers from Sun Microsystems were fashionable for dot-coms with big plans. But Sun, known for sticking to its own technology, joined the Linux fray this month with a knock-off Linux machine using an Intel chip for under $3,000.

Chris Grams, a marketing manager at the old-guard Linux company Red Hat, was stunned that business types had begun stopping by his booth to kick the tires. Few interested in buying software had dropped by at past shows.

"It's less shorts, T-shirts and baseball caps and more real IT (information technology) guys," he said.

Free beer vs. free speech

IBM's head of global services, Doug Elix, gave a keynote address filled with videotaped testimonials from customers that had the infomercial air of most big company trade show presentations.

IBM's embrace of Linux a few years ago sounded a starter's pistol shot in the big guns' acceptance of the upstart "open" system. This year's LinuxWorld seemed to mark a turning point in big business' public embrace of the upstart software.

Elix suggested that now it's time for the Linux community to change, too. It's time for a shift toward driving "to business value."

But Matt Taggart, who works at Hewlett-Packard but is a devotee of Linux, says the transition might be difficult. Like many other open-source backers, he volunteers his time to write code to build Debian, a venerable version of Linux. Taggart's happy to see the corporate support growing, but he says not every open source is so accepting of the newcomers at the LinuxWorld gathering.

"A lot of people are bothered by the business focus and they just don't bother to show," Taggart said.

Another score for us open source advocates. How long do you think MS can last in this new market?

M$ will last until Linux cracks the desktop market with an easily configurable version AND a viable pool of third party products are available to consumers. As it is now, the public fears Linux for 2 reasons...they don't understand it, and they don't think they have the broad choice of available programs to suit their needs that they have with M$. I know what I just said may be read as being untrue, but I am talking about at-large public perception here, not fact. BIG difference there.

we all want M$ to shrivel up and die or realize that we don't like how they treat us... but I do not recall ever seeing a flat out linux tv ad. I would have expected atleast RedHat to have started boasting and trying to get itself into the mainstream where the decision makers get their ideas. They see winxp ads all the time, but never linux. So when it comes time to order hardware, what OS you think they agree to.

Personally I think tv ads for linux would make a world of difference. Since normal people would actually get to see it, instead of hearing about it from their friends who have only heard about it from their geeks friends or friends of geek friends. People actually need to see it in use. Know that there is an Office equivalent out there. That they would be able to do the same things they do now, but without having to sell their first born to M$.

g00n> yes you watch too much tv, comercials like you suggested would be a good idea but a lot of companies don't have the money or the desire to advertise. Besides the amount of sales to compansate for one 30 second spot on national tv are a lot more than most companies that don't require licensing fees can compensate for.

Would be nice to see tho g00n.

as for the above arcticle: score one for opens source, bout damn time big business came around =-)

I think IBM learned the hard way that advertising a competitive OS against Microsoft isn't easy. Anybody remember the OS/2 Warp commercials with the nuns? "Wow.... no hourglass!" Those were really good commercials aimed at showing Joe Average why OS/2 was better than Windows. You know what it got them? Zip.

I think history has shown that the average consumer doesn't really care what's technically better, so why waste money on a campaign like that?

Well, I have actually in fact seen IBM advertise its Linux server line. It was a funny commercial. The head manager runs into a huge server room with the cops and starts frantically telling the police how all the servers were stolen. (on the floor you could see marks where there had been about 25 server racks, now gone) Then the Admin walks up casually eating a meal. The manager frantically asks him where all the servers went? The admin says, "Well, we moved them all to that one in the back." (You could see one single rack in the gigantic room all the way in the back) Then: Introducing IBM's new server line, exclusivly running ( you guessed it) Linux.

When I was refering to Linux taking over, I was talking about the corperate server side. 1 out of 5 running linux was unheard of just a few years back. If this trend continues, MS could be looking at a major decline in their net income.